Rising Stars: The Best of Two Worlds - Nonprofit Consulting

By Erdin Beshimov

Jonathan got an early career start as a co-manager of a
consulting project for a nonprofit organization. He says it was
all that he hoped for: he made a meaningful impact , gained
management experience, and had the time of his life.

Name: Jonathan Hanover

School: Harvard

Major: International Public Economy

Years Out of College: 0-5

Title: Nonprofit Consulting

First
Steps

As his first job , Jonathan co-managed a consulting
project for a non-profit organization, The Youth Advocacy
Project (YAP), in Roxbury, MA. Says Jonathan, "YAP is a
multi-disciplinary service organization that helps
court-involved youth stay out of detention centers and
develop positive relationships with their communities. Over
the course of the summer, my team helped YAP develop
performance metrics and improve inter-departmental
communication."

As far as his expectations go, "It was all I hoped
for and more. I impacted the community in a meaningful way,
gained invaluable management experience, and had the time
of my life."

Next
Steps

The private sector is Jonathan's next career
destination. "I would like to move into the private sector
for a while to develop my management skills before
returning to the social sector. Effective nonprofit
management is going to become more and more essential to
the health of the social sector in the coming
years."

Did I Ever Think I'd End
Up Here?

"I had known for a long time I would find myself in
public service but through my studies and other experiences
came to the conclusion that management suits my leadership
ability and analytical personality more than direct
service."

Nonprofit consulting is the best of two worlds for
Jonathan: it combines "the rigor and excitement of
management consulting with the spirit of public
service."

Advice for
Others

"Don't be afraid to be
unconventional. There's a tendency for young people today to
limit their career choices to predefined categories. Think
about what skills you have or what skills you need to impact
the world , find a way to get those skills and do
it."